Nigeria’s telecoms regulator has launched a formal review of the country’s 26-year-old national telecommunications policy to align regulation with a rapidly evolving digital economy.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) opened the national telecommunications policy review workshop in Lagos on May 20, 2026, saying the policy introduced in 2000 no longer matches current technological, economic and security realities.
Hadiza Usman, special adviser to the president on policy and coordination, told delegates a refreshed framework is urgent.
“A policy that was fit for purpose in the year 2000 cannot simply be assumed to remain adequate in 2026,” Usman said, noting that telecommunications now underpin financial technology, digital commerce, education, healthcare, agriculture, public services and national security. She warned that outdated or poorly coordinated policy can discourage investment, create institutional overlaps and blunt measurable national impact.
Usman identified practical barriers to infrastructure expansion that the review must address, including fibre cuts and vandalism, multiple taxation, delayed approvals and right-of-way bottlenecks, insecurity and energy constraints.
She stressed the new policy must be a “working instrument” that improves broadband penetration, affordability, quality of service, infrastructure resilience, consumer protection and inclusion for underserved communities.
The NCC’s executive vice-chairman, Aminu Maida, echoed those concerns, saying the sector has outgrown the assumptions behind the 2000 policy, which emphasised liberalisation and competition. “This is no longer a narrow telecommunications conversation,” Maida said. “It is a productivity infrastructure for the entire economy.”
Maida highlighted the disruptive impact of technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, satellite broadband, cloud services and the Internet of Things, and said the review will target structural challenges, including rural connectivity gaps, multiple taxation, vandalism, high energy costs, fibre cuts and permitting delays.
The commission aims to produce a modern policy that supports innovation, protects consumers, raises quality of experience and strengthens investment to further Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions, the conference maintains.
The Lagos workshop brought together regulators, industry operators, investors and government representatives to assess implementation of the 2000 framework, identify gaps and develop recommendations for a new national telecommunications policy for 2026.
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